Michelle Grey
by Ionawen
Summary: It's about Michelle Grey. She works at seaQuest, practically only just got there a few months ago, and this is the story about what happens when she gets really, really bad news and the lads of seaQuest season one try and help her the best they can.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

_seaQuest DSV, The Bridge_

"Captain, we can send a vessel now", said lieutenant Michelle Grey and looked over at Captain Nathan Bridger.

"Good", he answered and nodded to the group he had gathered around himself. "We're leaving strait away", he continued and the crew nodded. "Inform me if something happens, please, Jonathan", he said in a lower voice to Commander Jonathan Ford.

"Yes, captain", he said and Bridger left with his group.

Left on the bridge was Ford, Michelle, lieutenant Tim O'Neill and chiefs William Shan and Miguel Ortiz.

"It's time for your lunch now, isn't it, lieutenant Grey?" Ford suddenly said.

Michelle looked at her watch and looked surprised.

"Yes, sir, it looks like it", she said and smiled a bit confused. "Time flies, I guess."

"When you're having fun!" Tim and Miguel added and laughed.

Michelle smiled and said:

"Call me if you need me, sir."

"You bet", he said and gave her a quick smile.

Michelle started walking towards the mass. All of a sudden she felt hungry.

When she had taken a full plate and started eating, Miguel, Tim and Shan walked through the door. She didn't notice them though, she was too absorbed by her food.

"Guess who's hungry?" Miguel said and pointed at her.

"Me and Grey", said Shan and filled his plate as much as Michelle had.

"Okay", Miguel said and laughed.

"Wanna keep her company?" Tim suggested when all three of them had their food. "She seems pretty lonely."

"Yeah, let's keep her company", Miguel said and they walked up to her table.

"Hi!" Shan said happily when they put their food down.

"What?" she said and looked up.

"You're pretty hungry, aren't you?" Tim asked and smiled at her.

"Yeah... Can you tell?" she said and blushed a bit.

"Oh no. Absolutely not", Miguel said and blinked at her.

She smiled at him.

"We thought we'd keep you company", Tim said, even if it was obvious.

"So I figured", she said and went back to eating.

It was quiet for a while, while they were eating and Miguel were the first one to break the silence.

"What are you going to do on your day off next week, Michelle?" he asked curiously.

"I don't really know yet", she said and thought about it. "Probably try and get some sun. I'm getting a bit pale... How about you?"

"Get some sun, go for a swim, have a drink or two...", Miguel answered and stared dreamingly into no-where.

"Or three or four or...", Shan teased and Miguel smacked his arm. "Sorry!"

Tim shook his head and Michelle giggled.

"Sorry, but I have to go now", she said after a while and got up.

"Why, you got a train to catch?" Shan said with a big smile.

"No, but I have some things to take care of before heading back to the bridge", she said and smiled back.

"Okay."

"We're off for today", Miguel said and grinned.

"I know, but I'm not. See you later!", she said and walked away.

"See you", said Tim.

They stared after her until they couldn't see her any longer.

"She eats a lot and fast for a girl", Miguel said surprised.

"She was probably hungry", said Tim and continued eating when Ford walked through the door and spotted them.

"Hi guys", he said and frowned. "I thought Grey was going to be with you."

"How come?" asked Shan.

"I figured you'd keep her company."

"We did", said Miguel.

"'Til she left", Shan finished.

"Where did she go?" Ford asked.

"I don't know, sir. But it seemed like she wanted to be alone", Shan answered.

"Do you think she went to a friend?" Ford asked. He had received a message that was to be delivered to lieutenant Michelle Grey in person.

"Friends, sir?" The closest thing she's got to friends, is probably us", Miguel answered.

"And Ben", said Tim between the bites.

"Yeah, and Ben", Miguel agreed.

"And maybe Lucas", said Shan with a smile.

"Yeah, maybe", said Tim.

"I'll just keep looking then", Ford said, sighed and turned to walk away.

"Why is it so important that you find her, sir? Is something wrong?" Miguel asked and got a little worried about Michelle. He really liked her and it didn't seem fair that anything should happen to her.

"She's received a message and I have to hand it over personally", said Ford.

"That's never a good thing", Tim pointed out.

"See you guys later", Ford said and walked towards the doors. He didn't wish to answer Tim's comment.

Michelle hurried though the corridors. She wanted to get to her room as quickly as possible so she could check for any new messages. Just in case the police had found Sheila or any traces of her. Or Ray. She frowned.

'I can't believe I fell for such an obvious idiot!' she told herself for the millionth time. 'I should've picked someone better...'

When she finally was in front of the screen and it once again told her that she had no new messages, she could feel the hopelessness come crawling.

"What did I do to deserve this?" she asked herself. "What..."

She was interrupted by someone knocking on the door. She went to open it and found herself looking at commander Ford.

"Sir?" she said. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, you tell me, lieutenant", he answered. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course", she said and moved out of his way.

He stepped in and she closed the door behind him.

"Just after you went off the bridge, I talked to admiral Noyce. He had a message for you, but he wanted me to tell you in person", said Ford and sat down on a chair.

Michelle sat down in front of him.

"What was the message, sir?" she asked and got nervous.

"He wanted you to contact him. He's got some information about a certain Sheila Alexandra Grey. He thought you might want it?" Ford said and watched her reaction intensively. He never knew someone could get that pale so fast.

"Is... is she alive?" she asked.

"I don't know. That's all he said", answered Ford.

"Commander, I hope you don't find it unreasonable, but could I please make that call in private?" she asked and blushed.

"I figured you might want to do that. It's not unreasonable at all. Don't worry", he said

and smiled.

"Thank you."

He got up and walked towards the door, but stopped with his hand on the handle.

"Michelle?" he said in a low voice and she looked at him with surprise in her eyes. "I'll wait outside if you need me, okay?"

"Okay, sir."

He went out and closed the door.

'Oh my god!' she thought to herself and put hear head in her hands. 'What does the admiral know about this? I thought the police handled this...'

Ford stood outside her door, just like he had told her, and waited. 'I wonder what the message was about?' he thought to himself and nodded to a group that walked past him. 'Oh well, I guess I'll find out later.'

"Dead?! What do you mean?" Michelle said in shock.

"I'm very sorry, lieutenant", said admiral Noyce on the screen and looked truthfully sorry. "I know it has to be terrible to lose your daughter like this..."

"You're lying!" she said.

"I wish I was, but I promise you; I don't lie about things this important. I promise you."

Michelle just stared at him.

"Where did you find her?" she finally asked.

"In a valley. It seems like Ray lost control over the car and they crashed."

" H... How long?" she said.

"The coroner thinks they've been dead for about three or four months", Noyce answered.

"Oh my god..."

She sat down on her bed.

"Your next stop is Wellington, isn't it?" asked Noyce.

"Yes, I think so", she said with a confused look on her face. "Yes, it is. Next week. We get a day off there."

"Would you like me to send them there so you can bury them?"

"Only Sheila", she said flatly.

"What about your ex-husband?" Noyce asked and frowned.

"Send him to his family. They always wanted him to dump me and come back home", she said harshly.

Noyce just looked at her.

"I'll only send Sheila, then", he said.

"Thank you, sir."

"Try and take care of yourself, lieutenant. I'm sure Bridger would give you a few days off, if you need it", Noyce said in a concerned tone.

"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir", she said and the screen went blank.

She put her head back into her hands and after a while she noticed that she was crying.

Ford looked at his watch. It had been 40 minutes now. He knocked on the door,

since he figured they had finished their conversation by now.

No answer. He tried again.

"Who is it?" he heard Michelle calling from the other side of the door.

"Commander Ford", he answered. "I said I would..."

She opened the door.

"Come on in", she said and walked back into the room.

"What's going on?" he asked when he saw that she had been crying. "Family business?" he asked when she didn't answer.

Michelle nodded and sat down on her bed.

"Have the rest of the day off", he said and when she was going to protest, he added:

"That's an order."

Michelle stared at him for a while and then nodded.

"Okay."

"If there's anything I can do, anything, don't hesitate to tell me", he said.

"I won't, sir", she said.

"Good", he said and walked up to the door. He was just about to open it when she said:

"Sir?"

He turned around.

"Yes?"

"When was Captain Bridger coming back today?" she asked. "No offence, sir, but I think I'd better talk to him about this."

Ford smiled.

"Non taken. He'll be back tonight, I'll ask him to come and see you", he said. "But I mean what I said; don't hesitate."

He quickly disappeared out the door and after the door had closed, Michelle sat on the same spot for a long time, just thinking. When she finally got up, she knew exactly where she was going.

Ford walked back to the bridge slowly. He could've taken the Mag-Lev, he knew that, but he felt like taking his time. He wondered what had happened, since Michelle had been so upset. As far as he knew, she didn't have a family.

When he reached the bridge, he walked up to chief Manilow Crocker and asked:

"Any word from Captain Bridger yet?"

"No, sir, not yet", he answered. "But he'll call soon, he's never late concerning that kind of things."

"I know", said Ford and sat down to wait.

Michelle had to look a while before she found him and when she did, she was glad to find Darwin alone.

"Hi Darwin", she said.

"Hi Michelle", was her answer. She used to talk to Darwin when she was sure that no-one was around, but somehow she was certain that Bridger knew what she was doing.

She sat down by the edge of his pool without saying anything else.

"Is Michelle sad?" Darwin asked after a while.

"Yes", she said.

"Why?"

"My daughter is dead", she answered him. "I had kind of figured it out already, but to get it confirmed... It's a shock, even if it shouldn't be.

"Talk to Bridger, he knows", said Darwin.

"He knows what?" she asked and frowned.

"He knows", Darwin repeated.

"So you think I should talk to Captain Bridger about this?"

"Yes."

"I guess I'll have to do that then", she said and sighed. The next second she heard steps and got on her feet.

She stared in the direction of the steps and all of a sudden, Tim showed up.

"Hello", he said.

"Hi", she said and sat back down.

"Are you talking to Darwin?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I do that sometimes too. It helps, you know", he said, stroking Darwin.

"I guess it does. If only he didn't respond so funny", she sighed.

"Tell me, I might be able to help you translate", Tim asked and sat down next to her.

"Thank you, but no thank you. I think I know what he means anyway..." she said apologizing.

"Oh, one of those answers, huh? That's never funny", said Tim and laughed.

"Nope..." she said and turned quiet again.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes."

It was silent again.

"Did Commander Ford send you here?" she asked him suspiciously.

"No, why?" said Tim.

"Nothing really, just wondering", she said. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it, but if something's wrong, you should really talk to your friends about it", said Tim. "I'm sure they can help you."

"Friends? What friends? I don't have any friends here", she said.

"How come?" asked Tim.

"I'm not social enough, and besides everyone already know each other, I would just be in the way", she said and smiled at Darwin when he swam away.

"Nonsense", Tim said and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure that..."

"All hands to battle stations! All hands to battle stations! We are under attack!" they heard Katie say over the speakers.

"Under attack?" both of them said and looked at each other.

They walked away from the pool and was about to walk out the door, when the ship did a violent turn and both of them flew into the wall. Michelle hit her head and shoulder on an edge, whilst Tim were more lucky. He rolled around on the floor a few times, but he didn't hit anything.

"Michelle, are you alright?" he asked when the ship was still again. "Michelle?"

When she didn't answer and crawled over to her and grabbed her arm.

"Michelle?" he said, a bit louder this time. Then he saw the wound on her forehead. "Oh shit...", he said and tried to get through to doctor Westphalen, but he couldn't. He assumed the hit had knocked out the communications system.

"Damn it!"

Michelle moved at bit.

"Michelle?"

"Yeah?" she said and opened one eye.

"How are you feeling?"

"I've got the head-ache of the century", she mumbled.

"I don't blame you. You've got a bad cut on your forehead after your date with that edge over there", Tim said. "Do you think you can stand up?"

"I think so", she said and tried to stand up, but when she did, she almost fell back down again, so Tim gave her a hand to hold on to and helped her up.

"Here, I'll help you", he said.

"Thank you, lieutenant", she said.

"Hey, call me Tim, neither one of us is working, right?"

"True. Tim, then", she said and smiled.

"Here, lean on me. That'll make it easier for you to walk. The communications are out, so we'll have to walk to Med-Bay", he said and she followed his directions.

After a while, they reached the Med-Bay.

"Doctor Westphalen?" Tim called.

"Yes, Tim?" she answered, but she only had to glance at Michelle to understand what he wanted. "This way", she said and showed them a free bed for Michelle to lie down on.

"It's deep. Stay here, I'll be right back. You're going to need stitches", she said after a brief examination and walked away to find what see needed and left Michelle and Tim there.

Michelle felt uncomfortable.

"You don't have to sit here if you don't want to, you know", she said without looking at him.

"But what if I want to? Then can I?" he said with a smile.

"If you want to..."

"Good, 'cus I do", he said and put his hand on her shoulder. "Let me know if you need a hand to squeeze while she stitches you back together", he added when Kristin came back.

"You know Tim, I will give her local anaesthesia before I start", Kristin said and glared at him.

"If you say so...", Tim said, but wasn't convinced.

"Only because the anaesthesia didn't kick in on you...", Kristin started, but Tim interrupted her.

"Michelle?"

Both of them looked at Michelle, whose eyelids had closed.

"Michelle?" said Kristin and touched her cheek.

"I'm awake", Michelle mumbled and opened her eyes.

"Try and stay that way too", Kristin said and smiled at Michelle.

Michelle tried to focus on the people and the things around her and before she knew it, Kristin was done.

"If I actually knew that you wouldn't fall asleep in the next few hours, I would let you go..." Kristin said and crossed her arms and looked at Michelle.

"I can keep her company", Tim said.

"You don't have to..." Michelle started, but Kristin interrupted her.

"That would be great, Tim", she said and smiled.

"No problem. I can check with the rest of the guys too, maybe we could watch a movie or something", he suggested.

Michelle, who knew when to give in, nodded at him.

"Alright..."

"Good", Kristin said. "You call them, and I'll stay here in the mean time.

"Okay."

Tim walked away and Michelle asked:

"Doctor, could I have something for the headache, please?"

"Yes, of course!" Kristin called out and jumped up to get the medicine. "I'm so sorry, I completely forgot."

"It's okay, don't worry", Michelle said and took the pills Kristin held out for her and swallowed them.

Then they sat there talking for a while, until Tim came back with a big smile on his lips.

"Right, the entertainment tonight consists of myself, Shan, Miguel, Ben and commander Ford said he might stop by later on. Maybe, he wasn't sure."

"Wow, a whole team of entertainers just for me?" Michelle said and tried to smile.

"Oh yeah!" said Tim.

"Perfect", said Kristin. "Then you're free to go, Michelle", she added.

"You could almost believe you're trying to get rid of me", Michelle joked and Kristin laughed.

"Oh no..." she said ironically and smiled. "Have a nice evening", she added when they slowly left.

"Thank you."

They didn't walk very fast, but neither one of them minded.


	2. Chapter 2

Previous chapter

_Previous chapter..._

"Wow, a whole team of entertainers just for me?" Michelle said and tried to smile.

"Oh yeah!" said Tim.

"Perfect", said Kristin. "Then you're free to go, Michelle", she added.

"You could almost believe you're trying to get rid of me", Michelle joked and Kristin laughed.

"Oh no..." she said ironically and smiled. "Have a nice evening", she added when they slowly left.

"Thank you."

They didn't walk very fast, but neither one of them minded.

**Chapter Two**

"There you are!" said Miguel when he spotted them.

"We couldn't walk that fast", Tim said.

"Have you waited a long time?" asked Michelle and wanted to apologize.

"No, not really", answered Shan. "Ben and Ford said they'll be here within half an hour and Ben almost threatened to beat us up if we started the movie without him", he added and smiled.

"He could try", said Miguel and stretched.

Michelle laughed at him.

"Yeah", she said and opened the door. "He could try."

They walked in and Tim helped her to a chair.

"Why do you have all these tissues lying around?" Shan asked.

Michelle stared at him and for a moment she didn't know what to answer.

"There was something sad on the screen earlier", she said. 'It's not really a lie...' she thought to herself.

"I see."

"We have to tell Ben to get us some funnier movies", said Tim and shook his head.

"Yeah well..." said Michelle and leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

"No sleeping!" yelled Tim and Miguel at the same time. Michelle looked up with a shocked expression on her face.

"Sorry", said Miguel.

"But you're not supposed to be sleeping", added Tim.

"I know", she said and put her head in her hands. "I'm just so bloody tired..."

"Yeah, I can see why", said Tim and for a moment Michelle thought he might know about Sheila, but made the conclusion that he couldn't possibly know anything about her.

They sat down and talked for a while, since they figured they might as well wait for Ben and Ford, whom popped eventually. Miguel opened the door when they knocked and they walked in with some snacks, popcorn and soda.

"Aren't you working tonight, commander?" Michelle asked and frowned.

"Nope, Katie is", he said.

"And feel free to call him Ford when he's off duty", said Ben. "Keeps his feet on the ground, you see."

"Ha-ha, Krieg, very funny", said Ford and smacked the back of Ben's head.

Ben froze.

"Oh, I'm sorry... Did he just do that?" Ben said.

"Oh yeah!" said Miguel and Shan together and awaited the reaction.

"I'll get you!" yelled Ben and leaped out to get a hold of Ford who got away.

Michelle just giggled. She felt strange, but she knew why.

"Oh, guys come on!" said Shan after a while.

"Yeah, we want to watch the movie!" said Tim.

"If we wanted to see you two fight, we could've just stayed on the bridge", added Miguel with a big smile when Ford and Ben glared at him.

"I'm sorry", said Ben, got on his feet and walked over to the movies. "I don't really have that many movies to offer at the moment. We've got an old Lassie-movie, a cry-able animal/family drama and a family drama."

"That sucks!" they all yelled.

"So which one will it be?" Ben asked and tried to ignore the things they were throwing at him.

When the stopped harassing Ben, they all decided to watch the family drama.

"Okay, let's make sure that the guest of honour... I mean, the person of honour, is comfortable", said Ben and started messing with Michelle's chair.

"You know Ben, I can sit in the armchair", Michelle said.

"Good idea", said Ben.

Michelle carefully got on her feet and borrowed Fords arm to keep her balance while walking across the room to the armchair.

When all of them were comfortable and the movie had just started, Miguel suddenly said:

"What did you say the movie was about, Ben?"

"I can't really remember... A child being kidnapped, I think."

Michelle froze. A child being kidnapped? 'Oh well' she thought to calm herself down. 'Sheila wasn't really kidnapped...'

It turned out that Ben was wrong. The movie was about a child being murdered by it's father and when that became obvious, Michelle panicked and ran to the bathroom and locked the door.

"Ben, turn the movie off!" said Ford and ran to the bathroom door. "Michelle?"

"Michelle?" said Miguel who now stood next to him. "Are you alright?"

_"Yeah..."_

"We could watch another movie, if you want to?" said Ben and felt uncomfortable.

_"No thanks Ben, I'm fine"_, she said.

"Are you planning on coming out of there?" asked Ford.

_"No."_

"Why not?" Tim asked.

_"I don't want to! Leave me alone!"_ she screamed and felt like a child.

"Not gonna happen", said Ford. "We'll wait out here, 'til you come out of there."

'Shit!' she thought and angrily wiped off some tears. 'How the hell am I going to get out of this?!"

_"Michelle?"_ she heard Tim say.

"What?!"

"I promised Kristin I wouldn't let you fall asleep and I don't intend on breaking that promise."

"Oh yeah, how?" Michelle said in a low voice so they couldn't hear her.

_"Michelle, please, open the door",_ said Miguel.

"Why can't you just go away? You wouldn't understand anyway!"

_"Understand what, Michelle?"_ asked Shan.

"Nothing", she said and put her hands over her mouth.

'Why did I say that? Now they'll never leave!' she thought and cursed to herself.

They talked to her a little while longer, but didn't get a reaction until Miguel said:

_"Why did you react so strongly to the movie?"_

"What makes you think it was the movie?" she said.

"Well, what do you want me to think? The plot became obvious and you ran into the bathroom."

She didn't answer.

_"Come on, Michelle, we're your friends. You can tell us anything",_ he said and meant every word.

All of a sudden Michelle felt such a hopelessness she scared herself. She got up and opened the door.

"Okay", she said. "Okay, I'll tell you."

She walked slowly towards the armchair and sat back down in it, without looking at them. She didn't dare.

"So it was the movie you reacted to?" asked Tim and sat down on a chair beside her.

"Yes."

"What's happened to you?" asked Miguel and sat down on her other side.

She took a deep breathe and started telling.


	3. Chapter 3

Previous chapter

_Previous chapter..._

"So it was the movie you reacted to?" asked Tim and sat down on a chair beside her.

"Yes."

"What's happened to you?" asked Miguel and sat down on her other side.

She took a deep breathe and started telling.

Chapter Three

"Okay, I'll start form the beginning, it'll make it easier", she said.

"Easier for you or easier for us?" asked Ford, who sat opposite her with Ben and Shan on each side.

"Both", she said.

"Okay."

"A few years ago I met a guy", she started, but interrupted herself. "It's funny, isn't it? How most awful destinies start with that phrase... Guy or girl, shit the same", she said and shook her head.

"Okay."

"We fell completely in love with each other and got married", she continued. "Ray was so nice back then.

"You're married?!" Miguel said.

"No", she answered. "But I'll come to that."

"Sorry."

"No problem."

She looked at them, one at the time and realized that they actually cared. She didn't know that people could care as much about other peoples situation that they seemed to be doing at the moment.

"Well, anyway, when we had been married for about two or three months, he got violent and during the year I ended up in hospital several times", she said and stared into the world of memories. "But then I got pregnant, so I thought that things might get better and they did. During the months I was pregnant, he became that nice guy I fell in love with. At the moment I thought it was wonderful", she said and smiled a sad smile. "I should have known better...

She turned silent a little while and remembered. She wasn't aware of the guys' facial expressions or that what she had said had shaken them.

"But when Sheila was born, he turned bad again. The thing that made me leave was when Sheila was about six months old and he wanted to throw her into the wall because she screamed too much, according to him. I got pissed", she said and frowned.

"I can see why", said Shan and nodded. "I think that would have pissed off anyone."

"Yes", she said and looked at him.

"What did you do?" Tim asked when she didn't say anything.

"I took her upstairs and waited for him to fall asleep. Then I packed one bag for me and one for Sheila and I left. I checked in to a hotel and asked them not to give my room-number or my name to anyone, not even if the president asked for it", she said and smiled faintly.

The guys laughed.

"Anyway, I managed to get a hold of an apartment and after that I filed for a divorce and sole custody of Sheila because of his violent behaviour. He refused of course and said that I was imagining this and he didn't understand a thing."

"I can agree on that last thing", Ford said angrily.

"Yeah, so can I", Miguel agreed and the rest of the guys nodded.

Michelle smiled and continued:

"Well, luckily enough for me, they believed me and not him and we went to court. I had been smart enough to photograph some of the bruises he gave me and the hospitals had some records as well, so the court granted me the divorce and also the custody of Sheila. He wasn't allowed to see her ever again unless she contacted him when she got older."

"But...?" said Shan, who thought something else was hiding under the perfect end.

"There is no but. The judge was just so sick and tired of abusive husbands. So I brought Sheila to a new town to start a new life, and I got a new life alright..."

"What happened?" Ford asked, even if he had the rest kind of figured out.

"I was out walking with Sheila in her buggy one day and I stopped to talk to a man who was selling fruit, when someone all of a sudden pushed me so I fell over. I heard Sheila scream and that was the last time I saw her."

One tear ran down her cheek.

"Was it Ray?" Miguel asked and wiped it off.

"Yes, it was. He was gone until recently", Michelle said plainly.

"They found him?" Shan asked and got on his feet. "Where?"

"In a car they found upside down in a canyon", she answered. "He was dead."

It got quiet.

"And so was Sheila", she added and more tears came down her cheeks.

"Is this the information admiral Noyce had for you earlier?" Ford asked.

"Yes, partly", she answered and put her head in her hands.

"Partly?" asked Tim.

"I... I'm not sure, but he once said that he would rather die than to give up his child and I believe him", Michelle answered.

"No accident?" asked Ben and Shan slowly sat back down.

"No, not an accident", she said.

"Maybe he just lost control over the car?" said Shan.

"He didn't even have a driver's license", Michelle said with darkness in her voice.

"He didn't? Then why was he driving?" said Miguel.

"I don't know. All I know is that the admiral was kind of surprised when I didn't want both of them in Wellington next week. To bury them", she added. "He looked pretty shocked when I said that he could send Ray home to his family."

"Yeah, I'll say, said Tim and Michelle gave him an odd stare. "That you didn't want to bury him, I mean", he added and she nodded.

"Are you going to bury Sheila in Wellington?" Ford asked and frowned.

"Yes. I'm from New Zealand, remember?" she said and smiled at him.

"Yeah, I remember. From Wellington, right?"

"Yes. Born and raised", she said and her eyes darkened again. "At least that's what they say."

"What do you mean?" asked Miguel.

"I was raised in an orphanage, so as far as I know, I'm from Wellington", she explained.

"I see."

"Yeah... Well, it's my hometown, so I'm going to bury her there. It's beautiful this time of year", she mumbled and sunk down in her own thoughts.

"Michelle?" Miguel said after a while and touched her arm. "You do know that I mean what I said earlier?"

She looked a bit confused and said:

"About Ray not understanding... that he didn't understood a thing?"

"No, that we are your friends. You can trust us."

"I hope so... I haven't told anyone about this before. No one", she said and shook her head. "You see... At the orphanage... It was kind of like a bad prison. You has certain times you had to stick to or they would punish you. Half six it's breakfast, half seven school starts, at ten there's a fifteen minute break, at twelve it's lunch, you start again at one, half two there's another break and at four the school is over. Then all you had to do is start wrestling the mountain of homework", she said and sighed deeply. "And if you got a friend, they did what they could to wreck it. It was only a few years ago I learned that orphanages usually aren't that bad."

"It sounds like hell", said Tim.

"It was, but you almost had to get used to it", Michelle answered.

"Almost?" said Ford with a smile. "I can sense a rebellious teenager here."

"Yeah, you betcha! No one was going tell me what to do! Damn, the pain I was in sometimes...", Michelle said and did a face.

"Pain? They hurt you?" said Shan and frowned again.

"Yeah... Seems like I'm attracted to those, huh?" she said and looked back at her memories again.

"Not when it comes to us", said Ben who sill felt a bit guilty over the movie.

"No, I know that. You're not like them at all", she said distantly.

"Them? Not just Ray?" Miguel said.

"No, there was a guy at the orphanage before Ray. We were both seventeen and I was about to leave. He was violent too", Michelle said. "Jack Jones. I hope he's as far away from Wellington as possible by now. He was the matron's son, so logically he shouldn't be there, because they hated each other. Maybe not more than they hated the kids, though..."

"Here you ever been back to the orphanage?" Ford asked.

"No, not since I ran away."

"You ran away?!"

"Yeah. It was only three more days 'til my 18th birthday when the hospital discharged me after Jack had beaten me, so as far as I'm concerned it didn't really matter. The only problem is that they wouldn't give out my papers unless I come there to pick them up myself."

"How do you solve that?" asked Miguel and crossed his arms.

"Whenever I need them, I send a letter and I get copies. I think there might be a phone call involved from somewhere to them as well, but I'm not sure", she said and frowned.

"Then I have a great idea", said Ford and Michelle looked at him.

"What might that be?" she asked and at smiled at him.

"We go there and get your papers, while we in Wellington."

Michelle flew up and was all of a sudden all red in her face.

"Like hell we are! There is no way I am ever setting my foot in that place again! Over my dead body!" she screamed.

"I'm sorry, it was just an idea", Ford said and everyone stared at Michelle.

"Not one of your best ideas", she said and sat back down.

It got quiet for a while and Michelle took a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

"I'm sorry. It's just that... I really don't want to go back there, not even if I know that I can leave whenever I want to. I just can't, I will get the worst panic-attack you've ever seen..."

"That's alright, I know how to handle a panic-attack", Shan said with a smile that could disarm a whole army.

Michelle looked at him.

"You won't give up, will you?"

"No, but our ways of convincing will be very different", Shan said happily.

"Okay, but you'll have to convince captain Bridger to give us an extra day on land", she said, surrendering.

They stared at her.

"Yeah, there's no way I'd go to that place the same day I'm burying my daughter", she said in a low voice. "No way."

"Not a problem. I'll take care of it", said Ford.

"Okay."

"You're welcome", he said and got a glare back.

"What are we going to do now, then?" Michelle said and sighed quietly.

"Well, we can't watch the movie now, can we?" said Shan with a big smile on his face.

"Am I sensing an idea, Shan?" asked Ben and smiled too.

"Yeah. Poker!"

"Yeah!" everyone yelled, including Michelle.

So they played poker the rest of the evening and when it was time to go, no one liked the idea of leaving Michelle alone.

"What if you wake up in the middle of the night not knowing where you are?" said Tim.

"Yeah sure, Tim, that happens a lot", she said and eyeballed him.

"Kristin said it could happen."

"For real?" said Ford in surprise.

"Yes."

"Well then, we're staying", he decided.

"Oh come on...", Michelle said and smacked her forehead. "Leave, go home, go to bed!"

"No, we're staying. We might as well sleep here tonight", said Miguel with a grin and sat down on a chair.

After a bit of rumbling around, they finally got their way. Luckily, Michelle didn't wake up by any nightmares that night.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Don't own any of them. To my own great displeasure... You all know how it is...

A/N 1: I'm merely assuming that Miguel & Shan likes the movie that is being mentioned... I do and I hope you do too. It's lovely! :)

A/N 2: I _know_ it's a Mary Sue-story, but hey… I like 'em! :)

A/N 3: I'm sorry it's been a while, but I haven't been in a seaQuest frenzy lately… I'll try and post another chapter as soon as possible though…

Chapter Four

"And captain Bridger said that they were going to pick us up here in a week?" Michelle asked anxiously.

"Yes, you've got nothing to worry about", said Ford for the thousand time and tried to hide a smile. "They will be here, Michelle, don't worry."

"Allright", she said and tried to get used to the guys calling her by her first name.

"Come on, guys. Let's find our hotel", said Shan and threw his bag over his shoulder.

"In a rush to hit the minibar?" Miguel teased him and ducked a punch.

"Oh guys, come on. Knock it off", said Tim and looked for a taxi.

When they got to the hotel and had their keys, they took the elevator up to their floor.

"Who's gonna sleep in what room?" asked Ford who was in charge of the keys for the moment.

"Well, what do the rooms look like?" asked Ben.

"I think she said that there are two double beds in each room", Ford answered and

frowned. "I suppose we'd better find that out first."

"Nice plan."

They soon figured out that Ford had been right and gathered in one of the rooms to make a deal.

"I'd like to stay in this room", said Michelle and sat down on a bed. "If it's alright?"

"Because it has a balcony?" asked Miguel.

"Yeah..."

"That's fine, anyone else for this room?" Ford said and handed the key to Michelle.

"Yeah, me", said Miguel and Shan at the same time.

"Okey", said Ford and walked to the door.

"See ya", said Ben and followed.

"Thanks guys, thanks a lot", said Tim and slowly followed. "I just hope they don't kill eachother and blame me..."

"Haha, poor Tim", laughed Shan when Tim had closed the door.

"No no, like you mean it, Shan, like you mean it", said Miguel with a grin and Michelle layed down on the bed she was sitting on.

"Well, one thing's for sure; I don't envy him", said Shan.

After a while, when Miguel had gotten tired of their meaningless wordfight, Miguel asked:

"Are you alright, Michelle?"

"I'll live", she said in a low tone with her face to the window.

Miguel went over and sat down beside her.

"You know that we're here if you want to talk, right?" he said with a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I know, but you'd probably just think I'm a nag", she said and turned over on her back so she could see him. "All I can think about is the funeral and the visit to the orphanage and I think I'm losing my mind", she said really fast and looked at Miguel to see his reaction.

"Aww, come on. We'd never call you crazy", Shan said and sat down on her other side.

"Good, 'cuz then I might have to smack you over the head", she said with a smile.

"Oh really?" said Miguel.

"Maybe..." she said.

"Well, if we do, we'll know then", said Shan and shrugged.. "So what do you think we should do with today? Perhaps some sightseeing?"

"Yeah, why not?" Miguel said and the boys looked at Michelle.

"You guys go, I've already seen this city a whole bunch of times", she said and closed her eyes. "The harbour and the view from Mount Victoria to mention two things."

"Are you sure?" asked Shan and sounded a bit insecure.

"Yeah, don't worry, I'll call you if I want to join you", she said and smiled at him. "Go on."

"Okey. See you later", said Miguel and walke dup to the door with Shan right behind

him. "Bye."

"Bye guys", she answered as the door closed behind them.

The room fell quiet for a second.

"Nice move, smart-ass", Michelle told herself. "What were you going to do all day, then? Jaysus, how stupid can one person be?" she added and walked out on the balcony.

She stood the for a short while and looked out over the familiar city, before deciding to call Miguel and ask them to wait for her.

The very second she dialed, there was a knock on the door, so she decided to open the door first.

"Hi, we're back again!" said Miguel and Shan happily when she opened.

"So I can see", she said and smiled. "That day went fast", she added and moved so that they could step into the room.

"Yeah, we remembered that we had forgotten something", Shan said and kept smiling.

"Good. I was just about to call you when you knocked on the door. Why did you knock, by the way?" she asked and frowned.

"You got the key, smartie", Miguel reminded her.

"Oh right... So what did you forget?"

"You", said Miguel.

"Oh... Well, come on then. Let me show you my hometown!" she said, grabbed her bag and the key to the room and walked out the door.

They came back to the room about ten thirty after having a huge dinner.

"I am so full", Michelle said and sat down by the desk.

"I know, it's almost disgusting", Miguel added, sat down by her feet and put his head on her lap and said: "Pity me."

"How can I not?" she answered and patted his cheek. "When you ask so nicely?"

"Nicely? He reminds me of a puppy", Shan teased and grabbed the tv-remote.

"Yes, but such a cute puppy", said Miguel and tried to look innocent. Michelle laughed at him.

"Quiet you, the news are on", Shan said. "And come on? How often can we watch the news when the sun is setting?"

"He's got a point", Miguel said and Michelle nodded.

"Okey... What do we do now?" she asked when the news were finished.

"Who says we have to do anything?" Miguel asked sleepily.

"I do", Shan and Michelle said at the same time and laughed.

"We could watch a movie", Shan suggested.

"Good idea, what do they have?" Michelle asked and tried to get up but had a hard time doing so, since Miguel wouldn't move.

"Quite a few", Shan said and quickly eyed through the titles.

"The Phantom of the Opera..." Michelle said with respect in her voice.

"The filmversion from 2004?" asked Miguel who woke up when he heard the movie's title.

"Yeah..."

"You wanna see it?" Shan asked with laughter in his voice.

"I love this movie", was the answer.

"Okey then, let's watch it", he said and pressed play.

When the movie was over, the all went to bed.

"Hey guys?" Michelle said when she and Shan had crawled down in one bed each and Miguel was still in the bathroom.

"Yep?"

"Would you mind if we left a light on? I have this thing with the dark..." she said and looked towards the balcony.

"Of course", said Shan.

"No problem", Miguel said from the bathroom.

"Thank you", she said and fell asleep.

The next morning, she woke up and discovered that she wasn't alone in her bed. Her first thought was that how on earth could two people fit in her seaQuest-bunk without lying on top of eachother, but then it hit her. She wasn't on the seaQuest. She was at a hotel and the person next to her was no one else then Miguel Ortiz. How did he end up there?! Then she remembered. It was actually only two beds in the room and they _were_ adults.

She smiled and shook her head when she carefully got out of the bed. She put a dressing-gown on and sat down on the balcony. The city was waking up.

Shan didn't really know where he was when he woke up, but the memory returned swiftly and he sat up. He looked around and saw Michelle out on the balcony and Miguel still asleep in the other bed.

"Miguel! Miguel, wake up!"

Nothing.

"Miguel!" he said, a bit louder this time.

But Miguel didn't move.

Shan snuck out of bed, grabbed a pillow and threw it at his friend.

"Miguel, time to wake up!" he yelled happily close to Miguels left ear.

"What the... Is there an earthquake or something?" Miguel mumbled from underneath the pillow.

"An earthquake, huh? That's not a bad idea", Shan said, sat down on Miguels bed and started to jump up and down.

"Fine, I'll get up", Miguel said heavily.

"Great", said Shan and giggled. "You wanna go downstairs for breakfast or order up?"

"Ask Michelle", he mumbled. He wasn't quite awake yet.

"Okey", Shan said and walked out on the balcony. "Good morning Michelle."

"Hi ya", she answered, a bit distant.

"Do you want to go downstairs for breakfast or would you like us to order it up?" he asked softly and sat down beside her.

She looked at him.

"You're lucky it's kind of warm here now or you'd freeze", she said pointing out the fact that he had no shirt on.

"Who cares? Do you even want breakfast?" he asked and changed the subject as smoothly as he possibly could.

"Yeah... Would you mind if we order it up?" she asked.

"No, not at all. I'll go to our happy neighbors and invite them too", Shan said and knowing that he was going to wake three more people up, cheered him up.

"You do that. Is Miguel up?" she asked.

"Yeah", Shan answered and couldn't really hide his happiness.

"You woke him up, didn't you?" she asked and smiled.

"Yep, I did. Now if you excuse me, I have got three more people to wake up", he said and walked away with a grin on his face.

Michelle giggled and went back to looking out over the city.

"It's really nice in the morning", Miguel said behind her when the door slammed behind Shan.

"Yes, it is. Do you know that the car-drivers here are said to be the best at minding the rest of the traffic?" she asked.

"No, I didn't know that. Where did you hear that?" he asked and sat down on a chair next to her.

"Dunno, I probably just heard it somewhere", she answered with a distant look on her face and shrugged.

Miguel bent down beside her and sensing what she was thinking about, he put an arm around her waist. After a short while, Shan came back with Ford, Ben and Tim.

"They were already up", he said and pouted.

"Well, at least you got to wake Miguel up", Tim said in a comforting tone.

"True", Shan said and grinned at Miguel, who let go of Michelle's waist and got up.

"Details", he said and waved his hand around.

"It's all in the details, Miguel", Michelle said, however still a bit distant.

"Michelle?" Ford said and bent down in front of her. "What do you want for breakfast?"

"Huh? Breakfast? I don't want breakfast. Thank you anyway."

"But you have to eat", Tim insisted.

"I know."

The guys looked at eachother, not knowing what to do.

"Okay, how about this; we order in roomservice, one plate each and everything you don't want to eat, we'll finish for you!" Ben said.

She looked at him and nodded.

"Alright."

"Guys..." Ben said and nodded towards the room and Miguel, Shan and Ford followed him, while Tim sat down next to her to talk.

"What is it, Ben?" Ford asked when they were inside had carefully closed the door to the balcony.

"She's more upset then I thought she was going to be."

"I know what you mean, I've noticed too", Miguel said and crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on!" Ford said. "Of course she's not her usual happy self on the morning she's burying her daugther!"

"No shit, Sherlock", Ben said sarcastically. "But she doesn't look fine, and I'm referring to beyond the pain we can all see."

Ford turned and looked at her through the window.

"No, maybe you're right... Let's keep an eye on her, okay?" he said.

"You bet", Miguel said intensly and made Shan frown.

"Miguel?" Shan said.

"Yes?"

"Are you in love?"

Ford, who was heading out to the balcony again, stumbled on the bed and fell face-down on the floor.

"In love?" Miguel repeated. "Yes, I really think I am..."

"It's one hell of a day to figure that out", Ford muttered while he got up and went outside.

"Guys, I never thought I would say this about commander Ford, but... he's right", Ben said, smiled and went outside too.

"You wanna change beds tonight?" Shan asked.

"What for?" Miguel answered with suspicion in his voice.

"So you don't have to suffer or whatever it is you do, jackass", Shan said and shook Miguel lightly.

"We'll see", he said and looked at Michelle through the window. "We'll see."

Michelle was unknowing of the conversation taking place inside the room. She was busy listening to Tim talking.


End file.
